Henry g



H. G. VOIGHT.

AUTOMATIC DOOR HOLDER.

APPLlcATloN FILED Dc.28.1918.

l 5 3 Q2 @9 3 l e l Patented July 8, 1919.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY ED STAS TEN T OFFICEs HENRY Gr. VOIGHT, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO SAB/GENT & COMPANY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTCUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC EDGE-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentes .nay s, raie.

Application led December 28, 1918. Serial No. 268,629.

To all whom 1f/may concern:

lle it known that 1. HENRY G. VOIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing in New Britain, county of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Door- Holders, of which the following is a full, clear` and exact description.

This invention relates to an automatic door holder. and more particularly to a device for positively yholding a door in its open posit-ion and for automatically releasing said door when a slight further rearward motion is imparted to said door.

.The primary object of my invention is to provide a strong, durable automatic door holder for positively holding a door in its open position, with means independent of the holding mechanism to release the door autonnitieally whena slight rearward motion js imparted to the door.

more specific object of my invention is to provide positive gripping means for automatically holding a door in its open position. with a spring operated plunger for preventing rattling between said gripping means. and to provide means operated by said plunger for releasing said door.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

ln the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my auto lnatic door holder mount-ed upon a baseboard or thel like and shown holding a door in its open position.

Fig. 2 is a front view of my holder mounted upon a baseboard or the like, the door being released from the same.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through the, automatic holder and its coperating hook. the parts being shown in their released position, and

Fig. 5 is a front view of the hook.

My automatic door holder may ybe brieiiy described as consist-ing of a body member rigidly secured either to a fixed member, (such as a baseboard), or to a. swinging' door, the body member being provided with a gravity operated holder pivotall-y mounted thereupon` and with a spring operated plunger slidably mounted upon the body member and having an extension or the like coperating with the pivoted holder for moving the same to its inoperative position when the plunger is forced inwardly a predetermined amount.

In the embodiment of my invention, which l have illustrated in the drawing, I have shown a shell-like body member designated in its entirety by the numeral 107 which is rigidly secured to a wall or baseboard 11 by means of screws 12, and upon the door 13, I have shown a hook mem'ber designated in its entirety by the numeral 1l. which is secured to the door by screws or the equivalent 15.-

The body member 10 is preferably provided adjacent its rear end with outwardly pro- `iecting ears 16 having drill holes formed therethrough to receive the screws or the equivalent 12, above mentioned, whereby the body member may be rigidly secured to the wall or door, as may be desired, it being understood that the body member 10 and hook 11 are interchangeable, in that either may be mounted upon the door 13, or the fixed member 11, to which the door is to be connected when held in its open position, it usually being desired, however, to mount the body member l() upon the fixed member and the hook 11 upon the swinging door. The body member 10 is )referably provided with spaced vertical walls 17, between which is pivot-ally mounted a latch or holder 18 by means of a pin 18 having its opposite ends riveted in the upwardly directed ears 17 formed upon the members 1T. This body member is also preferably provided with a rear wall 19 and a relatively low front wall 20. within the body member 10 is slidably mounted a plunger 21, the outer end of which is slidably mounted in a hole formed through the front wall 20, the rear end of this plunger is provided with a lug- 22, which islida'bly engages the floor or bottom 23 of the shell-like member 10. The plunger 21 is normally protracted, as shown in Fig. 3, by means of a coiled spring 2-1, one end of which abuts against the inner face of the 'all 19, and the other end of which is seated in a socket 25, formed in the rear end of the plunge-r. Upon the upper fac-e of the plunger 21 is formed an extension 26, which eX- tends upwardly and rearwardly, as shown in the drawing. The sliding plunger 21 may be retained in its operative position within the body member, by any desired means,

llO

such as a pin 27, which has its ends riveted iu the opposite. side wall 17, and is positioned to engage the upper' face of the plunger 2l, as shown.

The pivoted latch or holder 1S, above mentioned, is preferably gravity operated, and has an opening 23 formed in its outer end adapted to receive the upwardly directed end 29 of the hook member 14. T he rear end of the latch 13 is preferably provided with a lip 30 adapted to abut against the upper edge 31 of the rear wall 19, and thereby limiting the extent to which the forward end of the latch may be rocked in an upward direction. The under face of the latch 18 is provided witha rounded downwardly projecting portion 32, which cooperates with the end of the extension 26 in a manner hereinafter pointed out.

rl`he operation of my device is as follows:

When the door 13, upon which the hook 14 is mounted, is opened suiiiciently, the outer inclined face 29 of the hook member will engage the outer rounded end of the gravity operated latch 18, and will raise this latch sufficiently to permit the opening 28 formed in the same to drop linto positive gripping engagement with the upwardly directed end 29 of the hook member 14, whereupon the door will be positively held in its open position. In order to prevent any rattling that might be produced between the hook 14 and the latch 18 by a slight movement of the door 13, the spring operated plunger 21 is provided, the outer end of which abuts against a downwardly projecting portion 33, formed upon the base plate of the latch 14. The outwardly projecting end of the plunger 21 is of sufficient length to abut against the member 33 before the hook member isV positively engaged by the latch 18, as will be clear from an inspection of Fig. 1, in which the plunger is shown in dotted lines as moved inwardly-slightly by its engagment with the member 33, the shoulder upon the plunger being shown out of abutting engagement with the inner face of the wall 20. The object in providing the extension 26 upon the sliding plunger and the cooperating rounded portion 32 upon the latch 18 is to automatically release the door 13 when a pressure is exerted upon the same in a rearward direction sufficient to retract the sliding plunger 21. The manner in which the latch 13 is disengaged from its hook is clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing, in which figure it will be seen that the hook member 14 has been moved toward the body member 10 sufficiently to force the plunger inwardly, as shown, whereupon the outer end of the extension 2G is brought into contact with the rounded portion 3:2 of the latch member and the latch is thereb)Y swung upwardly out of engagement ot' the hook member. As soon as the member.

latch 18 has been disengaged from the hook, in the manner just described, the spring operated plunger 21 will move the door in a closing direction sufficiently to prevent the latch member 18 from dropping into engagement with the outer end 29 of the hook lVhen the door is not held in an open position, the latch 13 normally lies in substantially a horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, and may be supported in this position by the outer end of the extension 2G, which engages the'under face of the latch member.

Although the above description is necessarily directed to a specific embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the device herein disclosed without departing from the scope of' my invention, as defined in the annexed claims.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In an automatic door holder, a body member, a plunger slidably mounted therein. a holder pivotally mounted upon said body member above said plunger, means movable into and out of positive gripping engagement with said pivoted holder, and an upwardly projecting extension upon said plunger positioned to engage said holder and move the same out of engagement with said first mentioned means.

2. In an automatic door holder, a fixed body member, a plunger slidably mounted therein, a holder pivotally mounted upon said body member and provided with a proy jecting rounded portion, means mounted upon a door and movable into and out of positive gripping engagement with said pivoted holder, and means upon said sliding plunger positioned to operatively engage said rounded portion to release said first mentioned means from said pivoted holder.

3. In an automatic door holder, a body member, a plunger slidably mounted in said body member, a gravity operated latch pivotally mounted on said body member,a

rounded projection formed upon said latch between the outer end of the same and its pivot, a hook member movable into and out of positive gripping engagement with said latch, and means upon said plunger coperating with said projection to release said hook member from said latch.

4. In a device for automatically holding a door in its open position, a body member, a hook member, one of said members fixed and the other mounted upon a door and movable into and out of close proximity to said fixed member, a latch pivotally mounted upon said body member, a spring operated plunger mounted upon said body member for preventing rattling between said hook member and latch, and means operated by said plunger for releasing said hook member from said latch, comprising an up- :rename Wardly projecting extension upon said plunger, and a cooperating rounded portion upon said latch positioned to be operatively engaged by said extension.

5. In an automatic door holder, a body member, a spring operated plunger mounted thereupon, a holder pivotally mounted upon said body member, means movable into and outy of positive gripping engagement with said pivoted holder, said plunger constructed to prevent rattling between said movable means and pvoted holder, and means operated by said plunger for moving said holder to its inoperative position When said plunger is depressed a predetermined amount, comprising a rigid extension upon said plunger for supporting said holder, and a projection upon said holder positioned to 'be engaged by said extension ,when said plunger is retracted.

6. ln an automatic door holder, a hollow body member, a latch pivotally mounted thereupon, a latch engaging member movable into and out of positive gripping engagement with said latch, a plunger slidably mounted upon the tloor of said body member, and means carried thereby positioned to abut against said latch to elevate the same vas said plunger is operated.

Z. ln an automatic door holder, a body member, a latch pivotally mounted thereupon, a latch engaging member movable into and out of positive gripping engagement with said latch, a plunger slidably mounted in said body member, and a projecting portion upon said latch positioned to lie in the path of movement of said plunger to be operatively engaged by a rigid portion thereof, whereby the retraction of said plunger swings said latch to its releasing position.

In Witness whereof, l have hereunto set my hand on the 24th day of December, 1918.

HENRY G. VOlG-HT. 

